Christian Charity

Posted by Larry Miller on August 18, 2010 under How | Be the First to Comment

I received a comment on one of my blog posts that read, in part, “He also tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who persecute us, be kind,patient,never keep account of wrongs done to you, plus a few other things like love one another so the world will see what it means to be a christian. I honestly do not see any of these qualities in any of those promoting what you are promoting.” I considered his words for a while and noted that the writer shows a very narrow view of what it means to live a Christian life. The rest of the note showed that he was apparently infected with teachings known variously as “social gospel” or “liberation theology”. While there are minor variations, both are nothing more than Marxism dressed up in Christian terminology.

Some may ask why this is a problem. The problem is that Marxism is a totally humanistic, materialistic, world view that presents a mechanistic picture of humanity and sees man only in terms of his economic and physical needs. It sees him as incapable and unworthy of functioning with out an overpowering state to meed his needs and direct his activities. He then becomes enslaved to those who provide for him what they prevent him from providing for himself.

Because of this, if we truly believe that each of us is a unique creation, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights we have to reject the sameness and regimentation promoted by those who believe economic redistribution is the way to heaven on earth. The systems that try to accomplish this only succeed in stifling the unique and beautiful spirit in each of us as they try to fit each one into a one size fits all mold.

This thinking leads to the type of “collective salvation” that Barack Obama says he believes cannot be achieved without redressing societal ills as he sees them. The trouble with this mindset is that the individual salvation Christ died to give each one of us by faith is superseded by a works based system. My Bible still tells me “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8 (NIV).

Proponents of the social gospel tell us it is our responsibility to help the less fortunate, even to the point of making up for the sins of past generations. To some extent, this is true, but it is an individual responsibility discharged by individual acts of charity… not by enforced corporate confiscation of another’s goods… which profits the victims, who loose their property, or the recipients, who become enslaved by dependency, nothing. Beyond this, it does nothing for those who appropriate other people property, they see little good beyond some temporary power and control. It is as King David told Araunah who wanted to give him oxen for a sacrifice, “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (II Samuel 24:24 NIV)

If the criticism comes as a result of standing against an open borders immigration policy, again, it is a narrow view held by those who are only looking at life from the perspective of someone wanting to bypass our laws and sneak into the country for their own purposes… or someone willing to let them… for their own purposes. This view is totally lacking a panoramic view of a dynamic situation.

I would suggest that if someone knocked on my door in need, I would help them to the extent of my ability. However, if someone were to break into my home to rob me, or possibly harm my family, they would be doing so at their own risk… not because I would be acting selfishly, but because I would be fulfilling my responsibility to look after the welfare of those in my household.

Two recent high profile cases involving those who are among us illegally have given us new reasons to consider our irresponsible ways. One story was about a fourteen year old girl who died when she was shot in the back by a young man who should never have been in this country. The other saw a Virginia nun killed and two companions seriously injured when their car was struck by an intoxicated, undocumented Democrat who already had two DUIs and was scheduled for deportation, but somehow was released. This does not even take into account the statistic, recently released, that illegal aliens make up more than three quarters of all the open murder arrest warrants in Los Angeles county, or the danger our porous border poses to all of us as we do little to prevent terrorists, who hate us just because of who we are, from slipping across the border unmolested, carrying who knows what kind of weapons.

Facts like these are blissfully ignored by those with innocent blood on their hands who want us to believe that our undocumented guests are simply looking for a better life on our side of the border. While this is true in many cases, in far too many it is not. We cannot permit the Biblical mandate to “turn the other cheek” to be twisted orinterpreted as turning a blind eye to the path of destruction some of their number leave in their wake, the crippling social services costs that are bankrupting states with high concentrations of them, and the good paying jobs lost as unscrupulous employers replace American workers with others who are paid cash under the table with no taxes or benefits. Such employers happily accept the lower costs to themselves and the higher costs passed on to the general taxpaying population.

For these reasons, it is my view that we need to take the big picture outlook… seeing the overall impact on our friends and neighbors (see the story of the Good Samaritan about who our neighbor is) and not let those with other agendas tell us what proper Christian charity and behavior should be. We need only look to the story of Eve and the serpent to see what listening to the wrong people will do.

Of course we need to be charitable, but my experience has shown that those of us who are characterized as heartless, because we do not want to have the government rob one set of neighbors to benefit another set of neighbors, give many times the paltry sums contributed to charity by our professional do-gooder elites who seek to shame us into doing things their way… a way that never has worked, and never will.